Two men have been detained on suspicion of murder after police found human remains linked to a 2023 killing in Nantou County, following the surrender of one suspect earlier this month, prosecutors said yesterday.
The Nantou District Prosecutors’ Office said that a local court on Tuesday approved its request to detain a 22-year-old man surnamed Tsai (蔡) and a 24-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳).
On Dec. 7, Tsai turned himself in at a police station in Pingtung County, confessing to killing a 57-year-old woman surnamed Liu (劉) in October 2023 at a residence in Nantou, prosecutors said.
Photo: Chen Fong-li, Taipei Times
He said the body was dumped under a bridge in Fenyuan Township, Changhua County, prosecutors said.
After an initial search yielded no results, police expanded the operation with assistance from indigenous trackers familiar with the mountainous terrain. On Dec. 14, officers found a bag containing human bones in the area.
Chen was arrested on Dec. 15 as an alleged accomplice, and both suspects were transferred to prosecutors on murder charges.
The court approved their detention after questioning, citing the seriousness of the offense, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison, as well as concerns that they might flee, tamper with evidence or collude, prosecutors said.
The remains were examined on Monday, and DNA testing is under way to confirm the victim’s identity.
Chen’s statements differ from Tsai’s account, and the investigation is ongoing, prosecutors said.
Police said the victim lived alone and was last year reported missing, as her family had not noticed anything unusual earlier.
Investigators believe the two men collected debts for the woman, but later kept a promissory note for themselves. After an argument one of the men allegedly strangled her. Further details are still being clarified.
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